USF's 2 Dances

[Guest BasketBull.]

Lewis, USF Continue the Miracle

BRIAN LANDMAN. St. Petersburg Times Mar 16, 1990

After a string of dismal seasons, the University of South Florida appeared unable to reach the NCAA men's basketball tournament without divine intervention.

Well, no one's saying that Fred Lewis is the second coming, but one of the team's newest faces is a player who sacrifices body and soul and thrives on performing the usually mundane, if not menial, tasks.

Thanks in large part to Lewis, the Bulls (20-10) have earned the first NCAA tournament berth in the program's 19-year history and play Arizona (24-6) today at 2:30 p.m. EST in the first round of the West Regional.

``Fred Lewis was a real fine addition to their team this year,`` Jacksonville coach Rich Haddad said. ``He worked very hard, was a leader for them and was a true team player.``

Lewis, a 6-foot-7 forward who sat out the 1988-89 season after transferring from the University of Tampa, is selfless. He rarely attempts more than a half-dozen shots from the field in a game but averages 12.5 points - behind established shooting stars Hakim Shahid (16.4) and Radenko Dobras (16.3).

``I don't worry about scoring a lot of points,`` Lewis said. ``I want to be a good passer, make steals, block shots, and take charges. I want to be a complete ballplayer.``

Lewis dominates games by excelling at those subtler aspects. He is second to Shahid in rebounds (7.5 a game), leads the team in blocked shots (24 of the team's 59), and is second in steals (46, five behind guard Marvin Taylor).

``Fred's our captain and the coach on the floor,`` Taylor said. ``Fred keeps us up and into the game, and then he does all the things that don't show up in the stats but that someone has to do for you to win basketball games.``

Exhibit A: Against South Alabama in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference tournament, USF was leading 80-78 with two seconds left. The Jaguars had one more free throw to shoot and obviously would try to miss it and tip the ball in for a tie.

``They took a timeout, and when we came back over, Fred had a feeling he knew what they were going to do,`` USF coach Bobby Paschal said. ``So Fred grabbed a clipboard and started drawing the play.``

Moments later, Cedric Yelding's intentionally botched free three bounded toward Lewis, who, with bodies careening toward him as he had guessed, jumped up and batted the ball away to preserve the win.

Exhibit B: In the final minutes against North Carolina-Charlotte in the Sun Belt championship game, Lewis took a charge on star guard Henry Williams to nullify a basket. He then beat a full-court trap press and the 10-second clock. After his pass was tipped, Lewis grabbed the ball and found Dobras 30 feet away for a layup.

Finally, he took a wild pass from Taylor, spied Bobby Russell 60 feet downcourt, and passed to him for a basket and a 73-67 lead with 1:08 to play. He hit two free throws in the final seconds. USF won 81-74.

``Fred Lewis was just a steady force for them this year,`` South Alabama coach Ronnie Arrow said. ``He and (Marvin) Taylor are the difference in the team and the reason they won the Sun Belt.``

Yet, Lewis' contributions often go overlooked.

In the three-game conference tournament, he scored 43 points, had 28 rebounds, six assists and two blocks. But somehow, he was left off the all-tournament team.

``That bothered me a little bit,`` Lewis said, his usual Magic Johnson-like smile giving way briefly to a somber stare. ``But as long as the team wins, that's really all that matters to me.``

That's not just bottom line, it's the only line.

``Fred's got some special talents and some special attitudes and blends all those things together,`` Paschal said. ``I thank God he decided to come here.``

USF is up, then down // Arizona rallies, wins 79-67

BRIAN LANDMAN. St. Petersburg Times, Mar 17, 1990

Fred Lewis, leaning against a wall in the University of South Florida Bulls locker room, stared straight ahead and mumbled in a voice barely audible.

``We were right there and could have won the game,`` he said. ``We were right there. Right there until the end.``

The Bulls, making their first NCAA Tournament appearance, battled perennial powerhouse Arizona for much of Friday afternoon before Brian Williams keyed a 79-67 Arizona win in the opening round of the West Region.

``I thought they outhustled us in the first half and I thought they really played hard and intelligently throughout the game,`` Arizona coach Lute Olson said. ``I thought South Florida definitely gained a good deal of respect today.``

USF (20-11), the 15th seed in the West, actually led the Wildcats (25-6), the Pacific-10 Conference tournament champs and No.2 seed, at halftime and assumed a 34-27 lead on two Lewis free throws a few seconds into the second half.

But Williams, Arizona's 6-11 sophomore forward, took over. He scored 21 of his career-high and game-high 28 points in the second half and, appropriately, scored the game's last basket on a layup.

``Early in the second half, we knew we needed the ball inside,`` said Williams, the former Atlantic Coast Conference freshman of the year before transferring from Maryland. ``When it did come inside, I got into a groove.``

Williams worked with little interference near the basket, particularly when USF's 6-5, 225-pound Hakim Shahid picked up his fourth foul with 15:08 left in the game. Shahid returned five minutes later, but he couldn't stop Williams.

``When I got those fouls, I couldn't be as physcial as I wanted to be,`` said Shahid, who had 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. ``But he's a very good player.``

USF stubbornly remained within striking range until Jud Buechler scored on a reverse layup, was fouled by Radenko Dobras, and completed the three-point play for a 68-57 lead with 4:15 left in the game.

Dobras, the Bulls' leading scorer with 22 points, scored eight points as USF cut the deficit to 72-67 with 1:18 remaining. But Arizona was too much, too tall and just too good.

``But the guys can build on this,`` said Shahid, who ended the year with 383 rebounds to surpass Cedric Maxwell's Sun Belt Conference single-season mark (376).

``They have the experience now. We won the Sun Belt,`` Shahid said. ``We won 20 games and played a great team close. We've done all we could do this year.``

Despite the size disadvantage, USF outrebounded the Wildcats 37-30.

``We didn't think we'd just walk over them and have an easy win,`` said Buechler, who scored 16 points.

``They played us hard. Maybe as hard as anyone we've played this year.``

On offense, the Bulls tried to push the ball upcourt and beat the Wildcats' big men: Williams, 7-foot center Ed Stokes and 6-11 center/forward Sean Rooks. When the break wasn't there, the Bulls tried to attack inside - seemingly folly against a team that had 176 blocked shots this season.

To some extent, especially in the first half, USF had some success taking it right to Arizona.

``Usually, when people penetrate on us, our big people have made it hard to get a shot off or they block it,`` Olson said. ``But they got fouled or made a tough shot instead.``

After eight lead changes and five ties in the first half, Marvin Taylor capped an 8-2 run with a pull-up jumper for a 28-22 USF lead with 3:43 left in the half.

Arizona cut the lead to 28-26 when Shahid picked up his third foul and Williams made both ends of the one-and-one bonus with 2:24 remaining. But Dobras scored again on a driving layup and reserve guard Tony Armstrong sank two free throws to give USF its 32-27 halftime lead.

That's when Williams took control, though, ending USF's most successful season ever. The Bulls, who were 21-63 in the past three years, had only once before reached the 20-win plateau (22-10 in the 1982-83 season, including a trip to the NIT).

``We're very disappointed we lost, but we base our total feelings on the effort we gave and how we played,`` USF coach Bobby Paschal said. ``And I'll always be proud of the effort we gave today. The game came down to the last few minutes.``

[Guest BasketBull.]

Bulls: We definitely have something to prove

BRIAN LANDMAN. St. Petersburg Times Mar 18, 1992

The shock has worn off.

"I was in disbelief," senior forward Bobby Russell said.

The euphoria has subsided.

"I screamed for five minutes," senior guard Radenko Dobras said.

Determination has replaced those feelings.

USF, which thought its chances of earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament were slim and none after a first-round loss in the Metro Conference Tournament, are in for the second time in three years. But the invitation isn't enough.

"Before, we were just happy to be there," Russell said of the 1990 NCAA appearance, a first-round loss to Arizona. "This time, we're not going to be satisfied with just being there."

The general consensus is that USF, which is seeded 11th in the West Regional, must win a game or two in the NCAA Tournament, such as Richmond did a couple of years ago, to gain a measure of national respect.

"We're at the point where we have to win a game for the program to advance it," senior forward Fred Lewis said. "If we barely make it in and lose, the perception of us stays pretty much the same. I think we still have some things to prove.

"This is a great opportunity for us because it's Georgetown (in the first round). I'm sure a lot of people think we shouldn't be in the tournament. But this is a great chance to prove them wrong. We need to prove them wrong."

Besides a boost for the program, one player is on a personal mission. Senior center Gary Alexander is the lone player left who was around in 1990 and watched the program's first NCAA game. Alexander had injured his knee in September and was a medical redshirt.

"It was tough, but in a way it wasn't," Alexander said. "I knew one day we'd come back. We had the foundation of players. I thought it was going to be last year, but we had to settle for the NIT.

"I knew my day would come. I didn't want to leave college basketball without doing it."

The NCAA and recruiting: USF has three scholarships left, and one of its prized recruits, Fred Ferguson, visited campus Monday as the Bulls prepared for their NCAA trip.

He saw the excitement. He saw the banners in the Sun Dome exulting the Bulls. He saw the possibilities.

"I'm impressed," said Ferguson, a 6-foot-11 center who averaged 20 points and 15 rebounds a game at Glen Oaks Community College in Michigan. "There's not a favorite right now, but this is close. The NCAA is part of it."

Ferguson, who knows another USF recruit, James Gilbert, also is considering South Carolina, Auburn, Washington State and Eastern Michigan.

Boise isn't that far: Coach Bobby Paschal is undaunted about his team traveling farther than any of the other 64 NCAA participants - 2,575 miles to Boise, Idaho.

"Most everybody else (in that sub-regional) is going a long way," he said. "Only Montana and BYU are close. If we were walking, I'd be concerned."

------------------------------------

Bulls sink in the West

BOB HARIG St. Petersburg Times. Mar 20, 1992

Except for the long journey to Idaho, the South Florida Bulls' trip to the NCAA Tournament was much too brief.

For a team stocked with seniors, the end of several careers came well before the euphoria of receiving an unexpected bid to the 64-team tournament could evaporate.

Georgetown saw to that with a 75-60 first-round victory Thursday at the University Pavilion in a game that was much closer than the final score. The Bulls trailed only 64-60 with 3:01 remaining but didn't score a point the rest of the way. They didn't get a field goal in the final 4:12.

"If we would have gotten blown out, it would have been easier to deal with," said Fred Lewis, a senior forward who fouled out. "This makes it hard. We could have won."

The 11th-seeded Bulls, who were behind by 11 at halftime, kept getting within four or five points in the second half and got a majority of the 12,208 fans on their side. But the big basket to change the result would not come.

The closest they got was 61-58, but from there the Bulls could not get another basket. When Lewis fouled out, it made things more difficult for Radenko Dobras, who found himself double-teamed.

"We put ourselves in position to win the basketball game," said USF coach Bobby Paschal. "Unfortunately, when we got it down to four points we had about four offensive possessions in a row that we didn't convert. It seemed like we got in a little hurry."

And that's the wrong thing to do against a methodical, slow-paced Georgetown team that has now won its opening NCAA game every year since 1981. The sixth-seeded Hoyas (22-9), making their 14th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, will face the third-seeded Florida State Seminoles on Saturday in the second round of the West Regional.

The Seminoles will be hard-pressed to do a better job on Georgetown's Alonzo Mourning, who had a game-high 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting. The Bulls held him to only eight points in the first half, when they put three players on him whenever he had the ball.

That was a good strategy, considering Georgetown's usual 31.2 percent shooting from three-point territory. But it didn't work on this day. The Hoyas hit their first six three-point shots and made seven for the game.

"I thought going in our emphasis was going to be to try and contain him," Lewis said. "There's no way you can shut him down. We did a lot of helping, a lot of sagging. But they had some guys step up and hit some big threes. It really hurt us."

USF's only lead was early in the game, at 8-7 and 10-7. But, of course, the Hoyas tied it with a three-pointer by Irvine Church, who made three for the game and finished with 11 points. Lonnie Harrell, who finished with 10 points, made two three-pointers.

The Hoyas then went on a 17-7 run, and every time the Bulls would make a move, Georgetown would counter. The Hoyas shot 54.5 percent in the first half.

"Maybe we placed a little too much emphasis on that (stopping Mourning), particularly early when they made so many three-pointers," Paschal said. "But Alonzo's a pretty tough guy to guard. It seems like he's awfully close to the basket for a long time. It's hard to get him out of there. If you try to push him out, it's a foul. He's very, very tough to defend."

"Alonzo has had three or four guys guarding him for three or four years," said Georgetown coach John Thompson. "I've said time and time again that a post player in the college game cannot be creative unless he goes outside. That's typical of how people have been playing him. Alonzo has a variety of moves that people have never seen. I said the same thing about Patrick Ewing and I say it about Alonzo."

Mourning's presence on defense also was felt. He blocked six shots and had 11 rebounds, including 10 that were defensive.

"More so than the blocked shots, he was altering them," Lewis said. "We were aware of him all the time."

It showed. The Bulls, who ended their season with a 19-10 record, hit only 38.3 percent for their shots. Dobras, who led USF with 16 points, made only 7 of 17 shots and 2 of his 5 three-pointers.

Gary Alexander and Lewis finished with 14 points each.

At least the Bulls' Boise stay doesn't have to end yet. They'll stick around to watch Saturday's games, then take the long trip back home to Tampa.

[Guest BasketBull.]

Btw,  Zoe beat the Bulls twice!

[... Dec 30, 1988,  TAMPA - An announced crowd of 9,138 came to see Georgetown put on a show at South Florida's Holiday Invitational on Thursday night...

Georgetown, the main attraction as the No. 5 team in the nation, won 74-64.

But South Florida (4-2) delivered a dramatic performance of its own, stretching the mighty Hoyas (9-0) as taut as they've been this year.

Georgetown's prized 6-foot-10 freshman Alonzo Mourning was slowed down inside by USF's 6-7 junior, Hakim Shahid.

Mourning scored 12 points, with half of them coming from outside jumpers, and had 10 rebounds. He also set a tournament record with eight blocked shots in the game.

Shahid, meanwhile, led the Bulls with 16 points and had six rebounds. ...]

[The Sheriff]

The only time I knowingly cheered against our beloved Bulls. I WAS a Georgetown fan growing up and never heard of USF until the Hoyas met the Bulls in the 1st round. Zo' was huge in that game for the Hoyas.

[ChiTownBull]

The only time I knowingly cheered against our beloved Bulls. I WAS a Georgetown fan growing up and never heard of USF until the Hoyas met the Bulls in the 1st round. Zo' was huge in that game for the Hoyas.

I remember watching that game during spring (daytona)break of my freshman yr.

I thought there would surely have been many more tourney apperances afterwards.....

[Brad]

Btw,  Zoe beat the Bulls twice!

[... Dec 30, 1988,  TAMPA - An announced crowd of 9,138 came to see Georgetown put on a show at South Florida's Holiday Invitational on Thursday night...

Georgetown, the main attraction as the No. 5 team in the nation, won 74-64.

But South Florida (4-2) delivered a dramatic performance of its own, stretching the mighty Hoyas (9-0) as taut as they've been this year.

Georgetown's prized 6-foot-10 freshman Alonzo Mourning was slowed down inside by USF's 6-7 junior, Hakim Shahid.

Mourning scored 12 points, with half of them coming from outside jumpers, and had 10 rebounds. He also set a tournament record with eight blocked shots in the game.

Shahid, meanwhile, led the Bulls with 16 points and had six rebounds. ...]

I was at this game, sitting under the basket.  That was a physical matchup in the paint.  Been anti-Zo ever since.   ;D